..... of an affliction so severe that it significantly restricts a person’s ability to function fully, a crater in the mind so deep that no one can responsibly suggest it would surely go away if those victims would just square their shoulders and think more positively.....
Jeffrey R. Holland

Monday, November 11, 2013

Elation and Legitimized

On October 5th 2013, Afternoon Session of General Conference, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, of the Twelve, gave a talk entitled "Like a Broken Vessel".

"I wish to speak to those who suffer from some form of mental illness or emotional disorder, whether those afflictions be slight or severe, of brief duration or persistent over a lifetime. We sense the complexity of such matters when we hear professionals speak of neuroses and psychoses, of genetic predispositions and chromosome defects, of bipolarity, paranoia, and schizophrenia. However bewildering this all may be, these afflictions are some of the realities of mortal life, and there should be no more shame in acknowledging them than in acknowledging a battle with high blood pressure or the sudden appearance of a malignant tumor."

"Let me leave the extraordinary illnesses I have mentioned to concentrate on MDD—“major depressive disorder”—or, more commonly, “depression.” When I speak of this, I am not speaking of bad hair days, tax deadlines, or other discouraging moments we all have."

"I am speaking of something more serious, of an affliction so severe that it significantly restricts a person’s ability to function fully, a crater in the mind so deep that no one can responsibly suggest it would surely go away if those victims would just square their shoulders and think more positively….", "….this dark night of the mind and spirit is more than mere discouragement."

For those that suffer, or had suffered from this type of depression, I'm sure there was a collective sigh of relief. At last, some one understands, I'm not a bad person, lazy, or irresponsible.